Full-time undergraduate

From September 2012, we will charge £7,850* per year tuition fees for our HEFCE funded undergraduate honours degree courses and £6,000 for foundation degree courses. What does this really mean for you and your family? Please read our no-nonsense guide to 2012 funding.

If you are from England and studying for your first degree or other higher education course you will not have to pay your tuition fees upfront. Loans are available from the government. You will also get support towards your living costs.

*We have agreed in principle to set fees at £9,000 for full-time teacher training courses from 2012. This has to be confirmed by OFFA and the University Board. Historically the cost of delivering teacher training courses is higher due to the intense nature of the course and the cost of placements and payments to schools.

No upfront costs

  • You don’t have to pay for your course upfront
  • You can get a loan to cover the cost of your tuition, which you only start to pay back when you are earning over £21,000 a year.

Living cost loan

  • A loan is available to help with your living costs such as food, accommodation and travel
  • The amount you can borrow depends on where you live and study, and your household income
  • A loan of up to £5,500 a year will be available if you live away from home and study outside London
  • A larger loan of up to £7,675 a year will be available if you live away from home and study in London
  • A loan of up to £4,375 a year will be available if you live with your parents.

Non-repayable grants

  • Grants are available to help with your living costs such as food, accommodation and travel.
  • Grants do not have to be paid back.
  • The amount you receive depends on your household income.
  • If your household income is £25,000 a year or less you will be entitled to a full grant of £3,250 a year.
  • If your household income is between £25,000 and £42,600 a year you would be entitled to a grant of between £3,250 and £50 a year.
Package of support for students living away from home and studying outside London 2012/13 Loan amount by household income
 Household income
 Living cost loan
 Non-repayable grant
 Total
 £25,000 or less
  £3,875  £3,250
  £7,125
 £30,000  £4,330  £2,341  £6,671
 £35,000  £4,784  £1432  £6,216
 £40,000  £5,239  £523  £5,762
 £42,600  £5,475  £50
  £5,525
 £42,875  £5,500
  £0  £5,500
 £45,000  £5,288  £0  £5,288
 £50,000  £4,788  £0  £4,788
 £55,000  £4,288  £0  £4,288
 £60,000  £3,788  £0  £3,788
 Over £62,125
  £3,575  £0  £3,575

How loan repayments are expected to work

  • You will not start to make repayments until you earn over £21,000 a year.
  • If your income falls below £21,000, your repayments stop—for example if you take a career break or are unemployed—until you start earning £21,000 again.
  • You repay 9% of your income above £21,000. The amount you repay depends on how much you earn, for example, if your salary was £25,000, the 9% would only apply to £4,000, meaning you would repay £30 a month.
  • All your student loans are added together and a single repayment will be deducted from your salary, normally through the tax system.
  • Any outstanding balance is written off after 30 years.

Rates of interest

Interest on your loan will be applied at the rate of inflation plus 3% while you are studying and up until the April after you leave university. From the April after you leave your course, interest will be applied at:
  • the rate of inflation if you are earning below £21,000
  • the rate of inflation and up to + 3% on a gradual scale if you earn between £21,000 and £41,000
  • the rate of inflation + 3% if you earn over £41,000.

The table below shows some salaries and typical repayment amounts.

Typical repayment amounts
Salary
 Amount of salary from which 9% will be deducted
 Monthly repayment
 £25,000  £4,000  £30.00
 £30,000  £9,000  £67.50
 £35,000  £14,000  £105.00
 £40,000  £19,000  £142.50
 £45,000  £24,000  £180.00
 £50,000  £29,000  £217.50
 £55,000  £34,000  £255.00
 £60,000  £39,000  £292.50

How to apply

You will apply to the funding body for the area in which you live at the time of your course application. The application process normally opens around February or March before you commence your course in September. Please apply through the relevant funding body:

England
Apply online to Student Finance England
Helpline number: 0845 3005090.

Northern Ireland
Apply online to Student Finance Northern Ireland
Helpline number: 0845 6000662
Or through your Education Library Board.

Wales
Apply online to Student Finance Wales
Or through your Local Authority.

Scotland
Apply online to the Student Awards Agency for Scotland

Some things to remember

  • After you have applied, you can check what information and evidence is required to support your application by logging into your online account at www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance, selecting the appropriate academic year and following the links to the evidence section.
  • Beware of 'phishing' emails. Your funding body will never email you asking you to confirm your log in details or bank details. These are fraudulent emails or scam emails and will take you to a fake website. You may even be sent scam emails through 'friends' on Facebook. You can report these emails to your funding body through the security section of the Student Finance England.
  • You must include your National Insurance number on the application or your loan instalments may not be paid.

For more information on the cost of studying full time download a copy of you can afford to go to uni - the student guide.

Technical issues with Student Finance England

Student Finance England is in the process of uploading information about our courses and fees charges for 2012. If you cannot see your course or the correct fee on your online application, please attempt to enter the details manually. Contact one of our Student Development Advisers in LISS if you require any assistance.

The estimate of your student funding which appears after you have submitted your application is incorrect. Please ignore this and check your Student Finance letter when it arrives.

Extra support

National Scholarship Programme

  • The National Scholarship Programme is for students whose household income is no greater than £25,000 a year.
  • In 2012/13 we will allocate 63 National Scholarship Programme (NSP) places funded by the Government and will also fund an additional 63 places ourselves, resulting in 126 awards being made.

Find out more about the National Scholarship Programme here.

Our bursaries and scholarships

  • In 2012/13 we will allocate up to an additional 295 Cumbria bursaries to applicants who are not in receipt of the National Scholarship Programme award.
  • In 2012/13 we will also award nine Outstanding Performance Awards of £1,000 (cash award) per beneficiary and three Achievement Scholarships of £1,000 (cash award) per beneficiary.
Find out more about our bursaries and scholarships here.

 

Terms of payment